NBA protests single slot

Lawyers, including the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okey Wali (SAN) yesterday reacted to the guidelines for the planned National Conference released by the the Federal Government.

Wali faulted government’s decision to allocate a slot to the association at the talks.

Alex Iziyon (SAN) suggested that the outcome of the conference be submitted to the National Assembly for inclusion in the 1999 Constitution, while Yusuf Ali (SAN) faulted the timing of the conference.

Wali, in a protest letter to the Secretary to the Federal Government,Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, said the allocation of only one slot at the conference to the NBA was disappointing.

He wondered why other associations with fewer membership, compared with the NBA, were allowed to nominate more than one delegate to the conference.

He argued that since the conference will address many legal issues, “it is only fitting and proper for the umbrella association of all lawyers in Nigeria, the Nigerian Bar Association, to have more than one delegate at the National conference.”

The NBA President said that the national conference is an area where lawyers possess enormous expertise and will definitely add a lot of value to the process.

He added: ”We do not want to think that our expertise is neither appreciated nor welcome. This is not glory seeking, this is about adding value to the process, because the good of this country, is the good of the Bar and so we are determined to give whatever is needed to make our country great.

“We do not believe that the single slot given to the Nigerian Bar Association will be impactive enough, and so, we request that you, please, reconsider the one slot offer to the Nigerian Bar Association, as we regrettably will be unable to accept that offer.

“We hold it in your favour, that this may very well be an oversight, and that the Federal government will have no difficulty in revisiting the issue.”

Wali noted that his association has been at the vanguard of the call for a national conference.

“Infact, it was a past President of the Nigerian Bar Association; the Late Alao-Aka Bashorun, that first called for a National Conference and since then, the Nigerian Bar Association has been in the forefront of the National Conference discourse”, Wali said.

Iziyon argued that the Constitution remains the ground norm, which is the framework for the operation of the machinery of government and the people.

He said:“So, if you have a national conference, there is nothing wrong, for instance,if we want to get further. But that must be referable to the Constitution.

“What I am saying is that after the National Conference, whatever is arrived at there must go back to the Constitution.

“People have argued that because the military brought the Constitution we must get a new one. That has raised a serious jurisprudential issue.

“The position is that any successful coup begets its own legality.

“Are we going to say that the Decrees that were made by the military were not law? They still form part of our laws. So, I do not believe the argument that since the Constitution was not made by the people it does not belong to them.

“Are all the former military Heads of State not recognised as Heads of State today, including those who were draconian? They are all listed as former leaders. So, why are we deceiving ourselves?

“What remains is that it becomes a starting point for the people to build on the Constitution, not jettison the Constitution.

“What we should do is to ensure that whatever our people are able to come up with by any extra constitutional means, that is, the national conference, should be submitted to the National Assembly.

“What should be done is that all that we have been able to come up with and we find them useful, we should add them to the Constitution. So, at the end of the day, it becomes an almagam of both the military and now, the consensus of the people.

“And then, we can move forward.Whatever is going to be done that is not referable to the National Assembly is a recipe for anarchy.

“This is because the Constitution says that this country shall not be governed by any other means except in accordance with the Constitution.”

Ali said :“I have not seen the guidelines. But I have always maintained that this is not the appropriate time for such a dialogue. But if they want to go ahead, let them continue. We can’t stop them.”